Reading Time: 2 minutes
Trade unions NUMSA and SACCA have given the Public Enterprises Department seven days in which to finalise funding for the structuring of the embattled South African Airways (SAA) or face protracted protests.
On Friday, the airlines’ Business Rescue Practitioners confirmed receiving a letter from the department and Treasury making a commitment to provide the R10.5-billion funding needed to restructure SAA.
The BRPs met with creditors to discuss the way forward for the airline.
They say they have exhausted funds to keep the airline afloat.
Unions picket outside SAA headquarters:
DPE and Treasury are a DISGRACE! They have failed SOES! We demand that they put funding into SAA as they promised. We demand that they #ShowUsTheMoney They promised to fund the BRP process, WHERE IS THE MONEY? ?
.@DPE_ZA
.@msmkokeli
.@TreasuryRSA
.@IOL
.@Radio702 #SAApicket pic.twitter.com/8ziPmJ2hEQ— NUMSA (@Numsa_Media) September 18, 2020
Our members are not responsible for the collapse of SAA and SA express. SOEs are in crisis cos govt as shareholder has failed! Why should Pravin and Tito continue to be paid from OUR taxes, when workers at SAA and Express have not been paid for months? #SAA#PaySAExpressWorkers
— NUMSA (@Numsa_Media) September 18, 2020
One of them, Siviwe Dongwana, says timelines for the funding will soon be determined after which they will engage with government on securing the money.
“We have since received further communication from government with the support of the National Treasury that indicates that there is a clear government commitment to provide funding to SAA to the tune of R10.5-billion.”
In the video below, SAA board members must face criminal charges:
The Business Rescue Practitioners took control of SAA in December last year after almost a decade of financial losses. They published a restructuring plan in June. But the money required for it to work has not materialised since the airline’s creditors approved it in July.
The department has confirmed that it is finalising funding for the airline and an announcement will be made in an Adjustments Appropriation Bill that would be introduced to Parliament soon.
In the video below, Unions picketed outside SAA headquarters on Friday:
